Benjamin Tristan

Benjamin Tristan, III, began his career with the Texas Department of Public Safety in 2006. He is currently a Special Agent with the Criminal Investigations Division (CID). His primary responsibilities include technical and electronic surveillance, including technical surveillance counter measures (TSCM), and UAS drone operations. Other technical assignments include understanding radio frequency (RF) energy and conducting cellular phone tracking, as well as installing monitoring and maintaining interceptions of electronic communications.

While working for DPS, Tristan worked as a Sergeant and served on the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, as well as the Texas Rangers Special Operations Group, which provides border security along the United States-Mexico border. Tristan was one of the primary tactical instructors for SWAT and SOG. He was a sniper on the team for ten years, as well as trained in explosive breaching. In addition to being on the SWAT team, Tristan spent time pursuing instigations, largely working to target drug trafficking organizations.

Tristan has provided instruction for various courses involving tactical team application and small unit tactics. Designing and implementing these courses have resulted in positive feedback and training materials to review and reuse, further demonstrating his ability for developing specialty programs. He was recently praised for his organization and training of active shooter/hostage rescue scenarios that involved multiple divisions of DPS. These large-scale training scenarios involved all aspects of a critical incident and broached different scenarios for officers.

Prior to joining DPS, Tristan was a training instructor for the United States Army Military Police School. There, he provided instruction for Special Reaction Team (SRT) phase I and II. He supervised students as small group leaders and fostered positive leadership values and provided classes in lecture, demonstrations, and practical exercises. Course material also taught special tactics and a wide variety of weapon skills. Tristan is a veteran of the United States Army.